Safety-razor having cooperating means on the cap and guard to adjust the blade cutting edges



Apnl 21, 1964 N. L. DOOTSON 3,129,508

SAFETY-RAZOR HAVING COOPERATING MEANS ON THE CAP AND GUARD TO ADJUST THE BLADE CUTTING EDGES Filed May 25, 1962 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,129,508 SAFETY-RAZOR HAVING COOPERATING MEANS ON THE CAP AND GUARD T0 ADJUST THE BLADE CUTTING EDGES Norman Leslie Dootson, R0. Box 1622, San Francisco, Calif., assignor of one-fourth to Winifred M. Colombo, San Francisco, (Ialif.

Filed May 25, 1962, Ser. No. 197,622 1 Claim. (Cl. 30-73) The invention relates particularly to Gillette-type razors, with flexible double-edged blades, including several of the original types and also the current automatic and adjustable type.

The primary object of this invention is a specific construction in a safety-razor which will give a cleaner and closer shave and will not irritate the skin. It will shave light or heavy beards without having to resort to any adjustment of the razor.

My improvement applied to a flexible blade safetyrazor comprises a fulcrum or ridge on the lower guard plate extending lengthwise of and adjacent the blade edge, which cooperates with the overhanging side edge of the cap to bend down the blade near to its edge and hold it tight at that point and to prevent excessive blade vibration, but in so doing the blade edge is bent down too much for close shaving. In the original Gillette razors the cap and lower guard were curved substantially complementally to each other and the general curvature of the lower guard acted as the fulcrum. If the razor was clamped tightly by the screw handle, the fulcrum would be near the blade edge, and if the handle were loosened somewhat to provide a closer shave and to allow for more blade edge exposure between the blade and safety guard the edge of the fulcrum would be farther back from the edge but while giving more blade edge exposure the firm vibrationless grip of the blade near to its edge was sacrificed. Some of the later models and the present automatic adjustable models had or have fulcrums on the lower guard with definite edges, located near to and parallel to the blade edge.

My improved construction employs a second fulcrum or ridge located above the blade, olf-set from the lower fulcrum and extending downwardly from the under side of the cap lengthwise of the blade and spaced behind the lower fulcrum. This second fulcrum which I employ on the underside of the cap above the blade permits the razor to maintain the tight blade edge grip between the overhanging cap edge and the lower fulcrum, and at the same time reduces the extreme downward slant of the blade edge.

Other objects and advantages of the improvement will appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows an end elevation of a safety razor showing the cap, blade, guard and handle of one form of my improvement as applied to one of the early type Gillette razors.

3,129,508 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 Referring to the drawing in detail, which comprises cap 1 (with blade centering pin 12), and lower guard plate 3, and flexible blade 2 positioned between said cap 1 and guard 3 in the usual manner, and these three parts clamped together by screw handle 4. This view shows the blade 2 in tightened position for shaving. The blade 2 is slightly raised above the surface of lower guard plate 3 by means of a pair of longitudinal fulcrum ridges 5. The overhanging side edges 8 of cap 1 are arched slightly downward to press downward on blade 2 along lines overhanging the ridges 5 near to and parallel to its cutting edges. A second pair of fulcrum ridges 6, off-set inwardly from the lower fulcrums 5 and extending lengthwise and downward from cap 1 exert pressure on blade 2 at a point which counter-acts the extreme downward angle exerted on the blade edges by the overhanging side edges 8 of cap 1. This counter-acting pressure of upper fulcrum 6 results in a more gentle curve of the blade edges. The elevation provided by fulcrums 5 and a downward curve of guard 3 as at 9 results in the necessary clearance space under the blade edge. By viewing the blade in relation to a straight line 7 the gentle downward curve of the blade is readily seen.

While the drawing only shows this improvement as applied to one of the older types of Gillette razors, it is obvious that it can also be applied to the modern types.

Having thus described my invention and mode of operation, what I claim is:

In a safety razor of the conventional type having a handle carrying a lower guard plate and a cap, between which a thin flexible double-edged razor blade is clamped by the handle, with the cutting edges of the blade extending outward beyond the cap; the improvement which comprises a pair of narrow fulcrum ridges on the lower guard plate spaced back of and parallel to the cutting edges of the blade, said cap having side edges overhanging said ridges and bearing upon the blade outward of said ridges, and a pair of longitudinally extending narrow fulcrum ridges on the under side of said cap projecting downwardly and spaced inward of and parallel to the lower fulcrum ridges, all whereby upon variously clamping the cap and lower guard plate together the blade may be convexly curved transversally to adjust the angle of its cutting edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,496,296 Chance June 3, 1924 1,765,805 Schlussler June 24, 1930 1,813,471 Thompson July 7, 1931 1,857,339 Smith May 10, 1932 1,942,911 Ashworth Jan. 9, 1934 2,618,849 Kofiler Nov. 25, 1952 2,700,817 Erickson Feb. 1, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 737,509 France Oct. 3, 1932 

